What is DMI?
Dynamic Movement Intervention (DMI) is a therapeutic technique used in physical and occupational therapy to treat children with motor delays by improving automatic postural responses and promoting progress towards developmental milestones. The goal of DMI is to provoke a specified active motor response from the child in response to defined dynamic exercises prescribed by the therapist. This comprehensive intervention incorporates current research on neurorehabilitation, technologies, and methodologies. DMI stimulates neuroplasticity to facilitate new neuronal connections and development of motor milestones.
Children with motor delays, including Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, and hypotonia, benefit greatly from therapy at PediGym. In just 2 to 3 weeks of intensive therapy at PediGym, children can experience remarkable progress in their motor skills and overall development. By engaging in two back-to-back therapy sessions, five days a week, the intensive approach accelerates improvement, allowing children to make noticeable gains in a short period. This concentrated schedule not only enhances muscle strength and coordination but also helps in developing motor planning and cognitive skills. The consistent and focused nature of the sessions ensures that therapeutic goals are met more quickly, providing a significant boost to the child’s growth and functional abilities.
What happens during DMI?
At PediGym, after a thorough assessment, Dr. Nitin, a specialist in pediatric neurology and rehabilitation, identifies areas of deficit and creates a tailored treatment plan. The exercises are carefully chosen to challenge the child’s neurological system, building core strength and achieving foundational milestones.
Using movements against gravity, progressive support, and postural challenges, PediGym ensures the highest level of skill development for each child. With Dr. Nitin’s expertise, PediGym is the best choice for children needing specialized care to overcome developmental delays and improve their overall well-being.
DMI focuses on:
1. Gross motor skills – Improving gross motor skills of children from birth by developing automatic motor movement. (Promotes Neurological Maturity)
2. Gradual progression – Continuously increasing the challenge to encourage the child to respond with greater independence.
3. Alignment and Postural Control – All exercises focus on optimal anatomical alignment and stimulate postural control and verticality.
4. Range of Motion – Muscle and joint range of motion is achieved by movement (Dynamical and functional stretching).
5. Balance – Improved balance is a common thread through most DMI exercises.
6. Functional movements – Improving actions and skills that lead to attaining milestones such as rolling, sitting, standing, and walking.
7. Somatosensory Development – The strong sensory information provided by the exercises sends afferent messages to the brain to create specialized synapses that fine tune balance, muscle control, and movement.
8. Modifying tone, primitive reflexes, and abnormal patterns of movement – DMI strives to provide normalized movement patterns to children with neurological dysfunction to assist with the integration of disruptive primitive reflexes.
9. Global Development – DMI focuses on gross motor skills, however, many other skills develop as a by-product of this intensive intervention.
